The Rookies
by the unsung songstress
Summary: Rookie - (n.) An untrained or inexperienced recruit; a novice. (Slash. Falcon/Reptil; newly dubbed Samberto.)


The Rookies

**01. Fall**

"Ahhhhhhh!"

Reptil closed his eyes, and – whilst trying to quell his fear – spluttered out, "Pt-Pterodac –"

Suddenly, it felt as if he was falling up, instead of the opposite way around. He opened his eyes…

And saw that he was on top of the Helicarrier once more. Blinking, Reptil turned around and saw his savior grinning brightly at him.

"I could've gotten here myself," Reptil mumbled, a faint flush dusting his cheeks.

"You're welcome," Falcon responded cheerily, turning towards the door that led to the Helicarrier's interior.

Reptil swayed slightly; he still felt like he was falling…

**02. Family**

"You still have a family, don't you?" The shadows playing on Falcon's face obscured his eyes and nose, leaving his sardonic smile in his companion's plain view. "Why don't you spend time with them?"

Guilt and shame churned within the young therianthrope, but he refused to back down. "Shut… shut up-"

Falcon uttered a mirthless laugh. "I bet you take them for granted –"

Reptil's face was red with rage. "Sh-shut up!"

"Never really caring – "

"I said _shut up!" _Reptil lunged at his teammate and attempted (quite successfully) to cover his mouth.

If Falcon was uncomfortable, he never voiced it out.

**03. Sleep**

He was still submerged in the depths of his dreams; colors and patterns swirled all around, vague imagery popped up here and there, but Reptil's subconscious never took note of it.

A faint, incessant ringing sound jerked him slightly awake, but he still managed to fall asleep once more.

Reptil's covers were forcibly yanked away from him; the teen simply curled into a ball, oblivious to the biting cold emanating from the air conditioner.

Something moved him from side to side; Reptil made a move as if to swat it away, but this proved ineffective in his current muddled state and his hand promptly fell back on the mattress.

Muffled words reached his ears. _Wake… wakey… eggs and bacey…_

Immediately, his brain conjured up the image of the hot, crisp strip of meat. _Mmm… bacon…_

Suddenly, something warm – something definitely _not_ bacon was pressed to his lips. He opened his eyes.

The blurry face of Falcon swam before him. "Good morning," the hero greeted in a decidedly cheery tone.

Reptil gave him a look before retreating under his covers.

**04. Flying**

Reptil would never admit it, but he enjoyed watching Falcon in the skies.

It wasn't just to pick up new techniques (Reptil was a decent flyer on his own, thank you very much) but the grace and speed with every turn, the confidence and agility with every cartwheel… the utter look of ecstatic joy on Falcon's face… it was simply enrapturing to Reptil.

Not that he'd ever admit it, of course.

**05. Food**

Reptil had always prided himself in the fine art of culinary. He knew which spices went with which condiment, from what blend harmonized with what flavor. It was like a puzzle; he could always figure out what ingredient was in each dish.

But Falcon, Falcon was different; he was a medley of spices Reptil never knew, a mixture of flavors unknown to him.

Indeed, he was the one dish Reptil could never decipher.

**06. Underdog**

He was the underdog; the person everyone had set high expectations to, the person everyone knew would crash and burn.

The pressure of the position was arduous at times, but Reptil eagerly took on the challenge.

Besides, it was just another similarity with _him_. And this was enough for Reptil.

**07.** **Hope**

Falcon hesitantly approached the doctor, his nervousness coloring his face. "Is he okay?"

The doctor turned to him, something akin to sadness flickering in her eyes. "His platelet count is worryingly low and he has a fracture in his right arm – we're almost certain that that area is infected. In addition to that, he has numerous cuts and bruises in varying parts of his body…" she trailed off, uncertain.

The hero swallowed. "Will he make it?"

The medic's pitying gaze unnerved him, but he _had_ to know what happened to his teammate. Falcon really couldn't explain it, but some invisible force propelled to the infirmary, his heart full with equal parts dread and hope. "He hasn't woken up yet, but his chances of survival will increase should he wake up in the next twenty-four hours."

Falcon nodded, fear and anxiety coiling within him. "Can… can I…?"

The doctor emitted a small, sympathetic smile. "Why not? I can see he means a lot to you." She walked away, her white coat billowing behind her. For some strange and completely nonsensical reason, Falcon felt his cheeks heat up. Inwardly scolding himself for such a ridiculous reaction, Falcon soundlessly treaded his way towards the patient, his heart in his throat as he laid eyes on the unconscious adolescent.

The poor lad's normally blue hair was splattered with red. Various bandages covered his body here and there, the cast on his right arm sticking out from the rest. Tubes and IVs were hooked up to his arms, ominous liquids flowing through them. Beeping machines surrounded his bedside, as if they were protecting him from the creeping darkness present in the dimly lit room.

In truth, Reptil was considered one of the luckiest – he had suffered the least of the injuries and he was still _alive_. Falcon did not necessarily agree with this.

Falcon gulped, mostly to steel his nerves and carefully touched the slumbering teen's forehead. The therianthrope did not stir, as he had dared to hope.

Slowly, Falcon removed his hand, his brain scrambling for any idea on what to say or what to do. Coming up with nothing, he simply stared at his comrade, attempting to convince himself that there was nothing stalker-ish or Edward Cullen-ish about his action. Besides, it was _Iron Man_ who had a similar name to the sparkly vampire; so if _anyone_ acted like Edward Anthony Masen Cullen it was Ton–

Was it Falcon's imagination or did Reptil's finger twitch?

The machines beeped shrilly, the noise reverberating throughout the room. A miniscule crease appeared between Reptil's brows. His eyelids fluttered slightly.

Falcon repeatedly slammed the round, red button that summoned the doctor. He pressed it so hard that it almost broke.

Reptil's eyes flew opened. Bluish-gray met dark brown. "Wh… wha…?"

"Hey," Falcon greeted, unbidden tears welling in his eyes. _He was awake. Reptil was awake._

The door swung opened, and the doctor emerged, an alarmed expression on her face. "What's the matt…" Eyes widening, she rushed towards Reptil and began checking his vital signs.

Falcon sighed quietly in relief. _Reptil was alive. _The hope was overwhelming, warming him with its alluring touch.

**08. Picture**

Reptil stormed angrily to his room, his footsteps thudding loudly as they hit the floor. Seething, he slammed the door and paced, grounding his teeth in frustration.

_He – was _just so_ – UGH! _Reptil was so enraged that he couldn't even form a coherent sentence. Clearly, this was not the time for him to glimpse a 5 by 6 inch picture of the object of his wrath. Reptil grabbed the photograph and glared at it for a good while before throwing it to the ground. His foot hovered dangerously over it before returning to its original position.

Confused yet still tenacious as ever, the teen scoured his room for a pair of scissors and emerged victorious. The legs of the scissors edged precariously towards the picture before the hand holding it fell limply to his side.

Frowning, Reptil tried using his hands to rip the photo. He found that this still didn't work, seeing as his fingers refused to cooperate. After which, he attempted a myriad of ways to get rid of it, such as burning it, throwing it out the window and simply ignoring it. Again, these proved ineffective, since he could not find the lighter, the window did not budge, and Reptil _swore_ that the picture was mocking him.

Finally, after several fevered attempts to destroy the blasted thing, Reptil called it a day, and shoved it under his mattress, promising that he'd try again tomorrow.

He slept pretty well for the remainder of the night, considering that he was sleeping over the face of his acclaimed 'arch enemy'.

**09. Sharing**

"Ow! Quit shoving!"

"Well, you won't give me the _blanket!"_

"This is _my_ bed! I have the right to use the blanket!"

"Will it _kill_ you to share?"

"If I get colds it will."

"…Seriously? 'Colds'? _That's_ what you're going with?"

"Do you have any better ideas?"

"As a matter of fact, I do–"

"**Guys! Shut up! We're **_**trying**_** to sleep here!"**

"Sorry."

"Yeah, sorry."

"…"

"Can I have some of the blanket?" **[1]**

**10. Tie**

"I'm gonna win!" A blur zoomed past him. He gritted his teeth.

"In your dreams!" Reptil pumped his feet faster. He would _not_ lose.

Footfalls resounded through the room; their steady rhythm was almost comforting to the racers.

_Pant. _Reptil had come a long way; he didn't go this far just to _lose_.

The finish line loomed a little ways ahead. _Almost there…_

The sound of the automated whistle sliced through the air. _Phew._ He made it. Raucous applause rang in his ears. Or, at least, it _would've_ rung, had not the other Squaddies gotten bored of their little 'races' and went to the kitchen for 'tea and scones'.

Speaking of which…

Reptil glanced at Falcon from the corner of his eye and sighed slightly in disappointment upon discovering that they finished at the exact same time.

Puffing air in his cheeks, Reptil walked to the benches and grabbed his jug. After swallowing a gulp of energizing liquid, he turned towards his adversary, ready to determine the wager.

Unfortunately, said adversary's shirt was off and Reptil's flush was still lingering from the race. Suffice to say, Falcon's inappropriate insinuation earned him a deadpan worthy of Wolverine's.

"So who won?" Reptil asked, quickly tiring of glaring exasperatedly at his rival.

"Hmm? Oh, no one," Falcon replied easily, wiping his perspiration on his towel. "It's a tie."

"For real?" the blue-haired teen glanced at him and arched an eyebrow skeptically.

Falcon smiled with genuine warmth. "For real."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: 1 – This is somewhat based off the part (in the episode where the Squaddies were temporarily homeless) where they have a 'sleepover' at Reptil's house. I actually don't know if Reptil and Falcon had to share a bed, but one can imagine ;D**

**Also, apologies for the sucky title. Just know that both Falcon (in the first episode) and Reptil were considered 'rookies' for a time :D**

**I apologize if my perception of the Squaddies is off. It's been a long time since I watched an episode :((**


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